Budget Process Coming to a Close

At the BISD Budget Committee Meeting held on Friday, June 10, Board Trustees and administration continued the lengthy and sometimes grueling process of creating a budget with no firm answers from the state regarding the district’s share of the budgetary shortfall. Legislators in Austin continue to meet in special session to formalize and approve a two-year state budget. Brownsville ISD’s current budget of a little over $505 million includes almost $326 million in state revenues.

On April 5, Board Trustees approved Budget Proposal #2 as the district’s working document, subject to policy modifications, legislative action, and/or legal action. Since January, the Board and administration have held a series of 8 budget committee meetings and 5 budget ad hoc committee meetings to identify creative methods to cut costs and reduce expenses. District officials are currently working on the fifth draft of Budget Proposal #2 which includes reductions in transportation, out-of-district travel, operating budgets, stipends, extra duty pay, summer school programs, overtime, and substitute rates as well as positions closed through attrition and reassignments. Previously, the district approved early notification incentives for over 200 resigning and retiring employees. On June 14, several BISD principals from schools across the district were given the opportunity to prioritize reductions in the final budget proposal that will go to the Board of Trustees.